3-DOT LOUNGE -- '96 Surprises: Rodriguez and Steinbrenner

THE CLEVELAND Indians are in town this weekend, and for the first time since the opening of Jacobs Field, they aren't the biggest story in the American League. Simply put, they've been upstaged by Alex Rodriguez and George Steinbrenner. It was mentioned on ESPN the other night that Rodriguez is the AL's leading candidate for MVP, and the notion seemed shocking at first. Upon closer inspection, the Seattle Mariners' second- year shortstop could win it easily.

Nobody has been more dynamic under pressure, even Rodriguez's teammate, Ken Griffey Jr. Rodriguez was second in the league in hitting (.361) going into last night's game, he's played solid defensively, and when the Texas Rangers complete their annual summer collapse, he'll find himself on a division winner.

We shredded Steinbrenner in this column for his last-chance gambles on Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, but the moves have paid off handsomely -- at least for now. Perhaps by accident, Steinbrenner picked the perfect manager in Joe Torre, who rides out the owner's bombast and has the players' respect. Now Cecil Fielder is wearing the pinstripes, and there is hope that David Cone will pitch again this season. A great story, top to bottom.

The Indians? One wonders if they'll ever be quite the same. Maybe Eddie Murray had to go, but Kent Mercker? Jeff Kent and Jose Vizcaino are serviceable players, but the players were openly wounded by the Carlos Baerga trade (check Baerga's numbers in '92-93 before you write of this 27- year-old). And if the Indians don't re-sign Belle, they'd better land someone like Chuck Knoblauch or Moises Alou. This franchise was terrible for 228 years (or something like that). Two seasons of magic don't guarantee a spotless future.

BAD FORM

Lame managerial move of the season: Cincinnati's Ray Knight walking Barry Bonds to lead off the ninth inning Tuesday with the Reds leading by one run. Essentially, Knight was correct; avoid Bonds and you're home-free. But he could have pitched around Bonds, maybe lured him into a bad swing out of frustration. By issuing the intentional pass at such a blatantly inappropriate time, he was telling Dusty Baker and the Giants, "You guys are nothing. You're weak. You're wimps." Not only did it ignite the Giants' attack, it told the rest of baseball that Knight has no style . . . Have you noticed that baseball's cauldron of labor crisis is boiling again? Turns out nobody learned anything from '94. Bud Selig is still a lifeless puppet for Jerry Reinsdorf and other militant owners, and the players are still being led by Donald Fehr. Incredible as it may sound, with these guys at the helm, you can't rule out the possibility of another strike.

Just discovered a channel that single-handedly justifies our purchase of the 18-inch satellite dish: The Classic Sports Network. Out of nowhere, there was original television footage of the 1977 NBA Finals, with Doctor J driving the lane on Bill Walton; rarely seen footage from NFL Films; classic documentaries like "A Man Named Mays," basically a 24-hour look into sports history every day. Several Bay Area cities are lucky to get CSN on TCI cable; otherwise, the dish is your answer . . . Two thoughts on the Raiders' attendance: (1) Who would pay to watch any exhibition game? They are terrible entertainment, always a guarantee to get key people hurt, and should be wiped off the map. (2) The Raiders have to earn back their fans. Lamonica and Stabler have given way to "Hoss." The deep-passing game is a myth. There are no characters along the lines of Matuszak, Hendricks or Biletnikoff. And the team is known mostly for dirty play and penalties. Clean up your act, and the people will come . . . Interesting ESPN spot on Bill Walsh and the 49ers recently. A testy Marc Trestman said "there's nothing Walsh can do during a game." Walsh said he has "no power and no responsibility." And players like Harris Barton and Jerry Rice said they're looking forward to Walsh's influence. Nice to see them all on the same page.

In bygone years, we looked forward to Sports Illustrated for the true images of the Olympics. This year, NBC nailed the drama and emotion of track and field and SI's grainy cover shot, one of its typically shoddy attempts at art, was downright sad . . . Ban them from the Olympics forever: Tennis, synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics. But don't mess with women's softball, especially with Australia (the host in 2000) fielding such a strong team . . . Those new A's bleachers are a regular riot, featuring obstructed viewing and seats that don't face the field . . . Good for Mark McGwire, suggesting the A's can the playing of "YMCA" -- one of the worst ideas in the history of stadium entertainment and, remarkably, an idea shared by many other teams.

Please, somebody get a gold medal for U.S. women's basketball coach Tara VanderVeer. People just assumed the team would be happy and cohesive after a year together, but VanderVeer presided over a revelation. TV analyst Cheryl Miller said what so many people didn't: The gold-medal victory over Brazil was the greatest women's performance ever seen, and it raised the game to a new level. Die-hards say it's been this way all along, but it hasn't. This was different. This was a wonderful, sharpshooting Brazil team being shot down by a stylish, near-perfect masterpiece. What Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Dawn Staley & Co. showed us in that game was more uplifting than anything that's happened in the NBA playoffs since Jordan vs. Magic five years ago. It's a brand-new day.